Would you put up lights if you lived next door to them?

We've got about a 1,000 lights on the family Christmas tree and I must say my wife does an incredible job arranging those lights to make our tree look good each year, but I'm sure I've heard a string of Christmas lights actually laugh at us while we're trying to find the one bulb that has stopped the glow from an entire string of lights.  I can't imagine multiplying that excitement 500+ times. 

502,165 lights is the exact number of Christmas lights now recorded as a world record for a community home decorated for Christmas.  A family in Australia reclaimed their Guinness world record for Christmas lights with their new total this year. 

The Richards family, first succeeded in receiving the record backin 2011.  At that time they had placed 331,038 bulb around their home, but that record was lost the following year when 346,283 lights were turned on at a home in LaGrangeville, New York.

David Richards and his family have been planning all year to recapture the title and they succeeded this month (November 2013) with over half a million lights according the officials at Guinnes World Records.

Unless you've got about a month to spare and some additional help to string the lights, forget trying to beat this family.  The Richards household has about 48km of wires and the power meter runs like a race horse.  Fortunately the local power company picks up the tab because the family raises money for charity with their unbelievable display of lights.

Did You Forget About This Thing?

Have you checked your air filter lately? Now that we are hearing the furnace kick in more often we need to check the filter more often. Afterall, the warm air you appreciate during the winter is also the air you are breathing coming through that furnace filter.

Reliance Home Comfort provides a great overview of what type of filter is right for you when it's time to replace it.

The Reliance people say, an air filter’s MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) indicates the filter’s ability to capture airborne particles while air is flowing through your heating or cooling system. For residential purposes, MERV ratings range from 1 to 16, with the low-end filters only capturing the largest particles and the higher MERV ratings capturing increasingly smaller particulates.

You can get the full story on filters here, but perhaps this blog was meant for your eyes as a reminder to check your furnace filter.

A New Home For Under $30,000

Here's an interesting idea to provide affordable and sustainable housing for the working individual (or couple who don't mind being close to each other all the time), who just can't make ends meet.

The Nomad easy to assemble home starting at $25,000. A home about the size of some garden sheds, but an idea that is under review right now. It's based on the success of similar type homes in other parts of the world, but would it be successful in Canada? That's what needs to be determined.